Ahluwalia (misl)

History

Summarize

Perspective

Origins

Different scholars variously name the misl's founder as Sadho Singh,^[5]^[6] his descendant Bagh Singh,^[7]^[8] or Bagh Singh's nephew Jassa Singh Ahluwalia.^[9]^[10]

The misl rose to prominence under Jassa Singh,^[4]^[11] who was the first person to use the name "Ahluwalia". Originally known as Jassa Singh Kalal, he styled himself as Ahluwalia after his ancestral village of Ahlu.^[12]

Conflict with Sikh Empire

In 1825, Raja Fateh Singh initiated the construction of a summer house near Kapurthala, designed to provide respite from the scorching heat with its thick walls and an underground cell approximately eight meters deep. However, Ranjit Singh misinterpreted this construction project as an attempt to build a fort, prompting him to summon Fateh Singh to Lahore. Fateh Singh, apprehensive of Ranjit Singh's intentions, having witnessed the fate of numerous chiefs who had previously been called to Lahore, delayed his response. This hesitation led Ranjit Singh to dispatch two battalions under Anand Ram Pindari to Kapurthala in December 1825, forcing Fatah Singh to flee to his possession of Jagraon in British territory.^[13]

Following his flight, Fateh Singh sought British protection for his territories, and the Governor-General affirmed his control over villages in the Cis-Satluj region while declining to intervene in his trans-Satluj territory. The Agent Governor-General at Ludhiana intervened, advising Ranjit Singh against confiscating the Kapurthala state in the Jalandhar Doab. Consequently, Ranjit Singh recalled his troops and extended an invitation to Fateh Singh to return. Fateh Singh accepted the offer and returned to Kapurthala in 1826, retaining control over his territory in the Jalandhar Doab while relinquishing other lands west of the Beas River to Ranjit Singh.^[13]

Princely state

After the East India Company took over the Sikh territories following the First Anglo-Sikh war of 1846, the Ahkuwalia Misl transformed into the Kapurthala State.^[3]

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Dynasty

Sardars

Jassa Singh (1777 – 20 October 1783)^[14] (b. 1718 – d. 1783)^[15]
Bhag Singh Ahluwalia (20 October 1783 – 10 July 1801) (b. 1747 – d. 1801)^{[citation needed]}

Rajas

Fateh Singh Ahluwalia (10 July 1801 – 20 October 1837) (b. 1784 – d. 1837)^[16]^[17]^[18]
Nihal Singh (20 October 1837 – 13 September 1852) (b. 1817 – d. 1852)
Randhir Singh (13 September 1852 – 12 March 1861) (b. 1831 – d. 1870)^[15]

Raja-i Rajgan

Randhir Singh (12 March 1861 – 2 April 1870) (b. 1831 – d. 1870)
Kharak Singh (2 April 1870 – 3 September 1877) (b. 1850 – d. 1877)
Jagatjit Singh (3 September 1877 – 12 December 1911) (b. 1872 – d. 1949)^[15]

Maharajas

Jagatjit Singh (12 December 1911 – 15 August 1947) (b. 1872 – d. 1949)^[15]
Paramjit Singh (b. 1892 - d. 1955)
Brigadier Sukhjit Singh MVC(b. 1934)

Crown Prince

Tikka Raja Shatrujit Singh (b. 1961)^[19]